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www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2020 GOURMET NEWS 6 8 Consumers Seek Functional Benefits From Teas By Greg Gonzales Six marathons over six days on six conti- nents – that's the bang with which Joe Gagnon wanted to end his book, "The High Performance Life." The bodily strain com- bined with little sleep and an irregular sched- ule required something to keep him feeling ready and refreshed every day, so he brought along a loose-leaf tea that would later inspire an instant tea mix called Energy, a staple product of his Performance Tea brand. By the end of his challenge, he said, he felt great, despite nearly a full week of intense exertion and stress, and credited the tea in part for his well-being. Gagnon isn't alone in wanting this kind of effect from tea. A growing segment of tea consumers are looking to tea for more than caffeine, and they're part of a lucrative func- tional beverage market – a $27.2 billion mar- ket, according to a SPINS infographic on functional beverages published in June. A functional tea, specifically, fills a specific need – more energy, added nutrition, im- proved focus, relaxation, general health, gut health or even beauty – that goes beyond the benefits traditional teas are known for. These teas contain botanicals, spices, mushrooms and extracts, often with a centuries-old his- tory in remedies from other cultures. These ingredients are steeping slowly into the public consciousness due to consumers seeking out natural ways to feel better and maintain health. Mintel's Healthy Lifestyles report from November found that 65 percent of consumers seek functional benefits from their food and drink, and its "US Flavor and Ingredient Trends 2019" report listed "fla- vors that tap into relaxation and support a healthy gut," along with "Ayurvedic-inspired ingredients, adaptogens and botanical fla- vors," among those trending. These trends already have the attention of large mainstream retailers. When David Eber- wein, Director of Innovation and Business Development at Shrooms Snacks, was mak- ing a sales presentation recently to one of his bigger national retail partners when he was asked about adaptogenic mushrooms being added to coffee and tea. The brand, launched in recent years by 80-year-old mushroom pro- ducer South Mill, had already been formulat- ing ready-to-drink functional teas with reishi, lion's mane and chaga mushrooms, and that question from the retailer was the nudge that Shrooms needed to ramp up development – and the teas launched in September. It's a natural part of the evolution of tea, said Kristina Richens Tucker, Minister of Commerce and Enlightenment at Republic of Tea, which expanded its offerings of func- tional teas this year and last year. Republic of Tea, she said, is responding to increasing consumer familiarity with teas, herbs and botanicals as something to enjoy throughout the day and consumer requests for new and trendy ingredients. That means there's a tea for absolutely everybody, she added. And everybody is right – more than half the U.S. population drinks tea on a daily basis – but the general consensus is that Millennials largely drive this trend, with Baby Boomers following closely behind. Eighty-seven percent of Millennials drink tea, according to the Tea Association of the USA's fact sheet, and Fona International's Flavor Combinations report from May said Millennials and Gen Z are more willing than their older counterparts to try new and unique flavors. But even though Baby Boomers might not be interested in beverages that combine an exotic mushroom with botanicals in a fer- mented tea – at least not on the merit of flavor – some of them are looking to teas for health support. Good Nature Tea, for example, launched a line of functional teas last year and expanded them this year – made with herbs processed by a Macedonian pharma- ceutical company called Alkaloid D, for teas marketed with specific health effects in mind, like controlled blood pressure and sugar lev- els, sleep, weight loss, detox and cholesterol. That line attracts Baby Boomers because a lot of them are dealing with high blood pressure and different diseases that are com- mon with older populations, explained Vic- toria Evans, Marketing and Business Development Manager at Good Nature Tea. They don't see the teas as an actual treatment for their conditions, but they do see a health benefit that could help prevent their condi- tions from getting worse, she said. Functional teas also find a market with ac- tive consumers, like Gagnon, and stressed consumers looking to recover from workouts or a long day at the office. Some teas have an appeal to this crowd through nutrition density, like Miracle Tree's moringa teas. Miracle Tree Owner and Founder Kunal Mirchandani explained that moringa has ex- traordinary amino acid and antioxidant prop- erties that consumers are looking for. And because the Millennial segment of active consumers still like caffeine, said Mirchan- dani, he added a line of caffeine-infused moringa tea, which can promote fewer jitters thanks to L-theanine. The idea with these teas, explained Gagnon, is to replace high-caffeine, sugary drinks with holistic herbal alternatives that don't put the body through so much stress. Functional teas also give retailers and produc- ers a chance to provide convenience for con- sumers, who might perceive the potential for added value out of rituals they already have.

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